Michael Fabiano Wins Beverly Sills Award 2014

Michael Fabiano has been named the recipient of the Beverly Sill Award.

The young tenor and rising star won the ninth annual award for up-and-coming singers. The award comes with a $50,000 cash prize and is the largest of its kind in the United States. The award is designated for extraordinarily gifted singers between the ages of 25 and 40 who have already appeared in featured solo roles at the Metropolitan Opera.

"I am profoundly honored to be the recipient of the 2014 Beverly Sills Award. Ms. Sills was one of the greatest artists ever produced by this country. Not only was she an extraordinary singing actress, as evidenced in her portrayals of such roles as Lucia di Lammermoor, Queen Elizabeth in Roberto Devereux, and Manon, but her gifts for arts advocacy created a new recognition for the excellence of the American singer. I am deeply grateful to the Metropolitan Opera, and the Agnes Varis Trust in memory of Agnes Varis and Karl Leichtman, for granting me this award," Fabiano said in press statement.

The award was given in honor of the great American soprano Sills and was established in 2006 by an endowment gift from former Met board member Agnes Varis, who died in 2011. The award was presented to Fabiano at the Met on Feb. 21 by General Manager Peter Gelb.

Fabiano first came to prominence when he won the 2007 Met National Council Auditions. The competition was documented in the award winning film "The Audition" by Susan Froemke. Fabiano later made his Met debut in 2010 as as Raffaele in Verdi's "Stiffelio" alongside Jose Cura and Sondra Radvanovsky. He later returned in 2012 as Cassio in Verdi's "Otello" with Renee Fleming and Johan Botha and the matinee performance was recorded in the Live in HD series. In 2013 he returned to the Met as Alfred in a new production of Johann Strauss's "Die Fledermaus," which premiered on New Year's Eve.

Other milestones in his career have included Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia" with Fleming at the San Francisco Opera as well as Verdi's "I Lombardi" with the Opera Orchestra of New York. Fabiano recently sang at the Paris Opera where he performed in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" and in Santa Fe where he sang Alfredo in Verdi's "La Traviata." Fabiano is currently in Washington where he is singing Verdi's "Il Corsaro" and will also sing in the Netherlands in Gounod's "Faust."

The Sills Award was created in 2006 to help further recipients' careers, including funding for voice lessons, vocal coaching, language lessons, related travel costs, and other professional assistance. Sills, who died in 2007, was well known for her operatic repertoire as well as for her support to the development of young artists. Previous winners include baritone Nathan Gunn in 2006, mezzo-soprano Joyce Didonato in 2007, tenor Matthew Polenzani in 2008, bass John Relyea in 2009, soprano Susanna Phillips in 2010, mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard in 2011, soprano Angela Meade in 2012, and tenor Bryan Hymel in 2013.